I know I've done this before but right now I'm sick so this is me sharing it in a non-contagious way.

I kneel down on the rooftop and make myself as inconspicuous as possible. I wouldn't be out here this late if I didn't need to be, my current condition is starting to affect my performance on the field. I have lost balance twice tonight, once whilst I was in combat with three opponents and the other whilst I was traveling across the rooftops. This is unacceptable, something one would expect from an amateur not a master of 127 types of combat. I am unsatisfied with tonight and I demand that I do better, no more mistakes.

Despite my expectations of myself I have calculated the amount of hours I will have left before I collapse and they are drawing to a close. I am exhausted, I am ill and my body will demand rest of me soon. I make an adjustment on my cowl and use it to zoom in so I can get a better reading of my prey in the building. Fifty people in the building and four hostages, I need to plan now.

I would go in through the roof but it is armed with explosives…darn it's so hard to think…I have a throbbing headache. Focus Batman! Lives are at stake. I go in through the roof window, the door is armed but the windows are not. I should go in through the third to the right, it is guarded by the most enemies and if I take them out silently I can minimise the number that will be aware of my presence. Clark…

"Did you just sniffle?" the voice comes from behind, descending from the air.

"No, I did not," I am unsure if I did, that is unusual.

"Yes you did, I heard you," he insists whilst he floats to my side and kneels beside me.

"No," I growl and continue going over my plan.

"Yes you did," he presses.

"No I didn't," I repeat.

"Yes you did!"

"No, I didn't," I growl at him in exasperation and begin to devise a plan to dispose of the remaining enemies.

"You just did it again!" he persists.

"No," I deny again and focus on the task at hand, which is rather difficult with him here and a bad headache.

"You can't lie to me, I know what I heard," he says both stubbornly and with self-satisfaction.

"Go away Superman!" I growl at him and go back to observing my surroundings.

"Alfred is worried about you and I can see why, let someone else deal with this," he puts a hand on my shoulder.

I shrug it off with a sharp movement and move a few feet away. "You know not to use names on the field, are you trying to get my family killed?!" I know this will make him feel guilty, good; I'm not in the mood to chat.

"B…you're right, I am sorry. No names."

I nod once.

"Not going to let up are you?" he pesters.

"I could ask the same about you," I growl in counter.

"We could work together B," he offers.

"Okay," I nod once at his offer in acceptance.

He looks completely shocked. "Wha- Really?!" he smiles at me.

"Yes Superman, the chances of my success without injury whilst doing this alone is slim and I will not risk the hostages."

"So why did you not call for backup?"

"Because they would insist on doing it themselves and I'm sorry but I am the more experienced fighter and I didn't want my family at risk, even like this I am a force to be reckoned with."

"Then why didn't you call the league?"

"The league has their own problems and I can handle this."

"But you're letting me help?"

"You offered," I shrug.

"No…you were expecting me," he looks at me suspiciously.

"The chances of my friend calling you were good. I knew if you were busy I would be able to do this myself, if you did come I knew you would offer help. I planned for either scenario."

"All right so what's the plan?"

I admire him sometimes, on the rarest of occasions. He likes to help but he doesn't over step things. He's not trying to take over, he's trying to work with me but we both know he could this all himself. He knows that when he can't do it himself I will have his back, as I always have.

"I go in through the top window, third to the right and take out the guys there. You get rid of all explosives and take them somewhere safe."

He nods. "Done."

"Then you rescue the hostages and once they're safe, help me with the rest of these morons."

He nods once more and disappears. There are 10 people in the room, four stories and four hostages on the level below. Two more thugs are in another room, sixteen on the level below with the hostages, eleven on the floor below and another eleven on the floor below that. All thugs are armed with machineguns and all are moving around seeming to be alert, good luck to them. I grapple and smash through the window then ready myself for battle.

"Aggh! It's the Bat!"

"Well what are you doing?!"

"Let's shoot him!"

Very intelligent, I roll my eyes and avoid a shot to the head. I knock a thug's gun out of his hand and toss it out of the window then narrowly avoid getting shot in the arm. I grab three Baterangs and knock three guns out of their hands, six more to go. I manoeuvre around to pick up each of the guns and they all go out the window.

"I hate guns," I growl and grab another one off a thug and it too gets to meet the fate of falling out the window.

One of the bullets grazes me but I don't react, I grab the perpetrators gun and force it up into his face. I do this in several quick movements until he loses consciousness then it goes out the window, do you see where I am going with this?

I avoid another shot and run at one of the fools holding a gun, he falters with eyes wide. I use this advantage to throw a Baterang at another gun aimed at me, judging by the sound of the gun hitting the floor and the grunt of pain, it hits. I flip over the man holding the gun and knock him unconscious the same way I did to his friend.

One of the unarmed thugs tries to attack me; I avoid his attempt at a punch and grab his arm twisting it behind his back. I dodge a few bullets by flipping behind him as I bring the thug to his knees and quickly knock him unconscious by smashing his face into the ground.

'That sounded nasty. All explosives are gone B, I am now clearing the hostages.'

'Good work kal.' I whisper.

The thug I forced to drop his weapon is trying to kick it over to his friend, he knows he has an injured hand and is trying give the other idiot a better chance. The thing about smart thugs is they aren't! I intercept the gun before he has the chance and kick it out the window.

Seven thugs to go, three armed.

Judging by their avoidance with aiming at each other they have some level of animosity at shooting each other, I can use this. I launch behind one and put him in a choke hold, hastening back toward the wall and using him as a shield. He drops one of the three remaining guns and tries to kick it over to them but I seize it with my foot and it slams against the wall behind us.

He loses consciousness from my chokehold so I fling myself over him with the gun in my hand, throw it out the window and flip behind another thug. Six to go and two guns left.

I disarm another and knock him into a wall, after throwing yet another gun I kick him back against the wall which knocks him out. Five to go and one gun left. I dispose of the last gun quickly and push the thug into another, dodge one thugs attack and push him into the other two. I punch one and grab another's fist before it can land anywhere on me. I push him into the other three and punch the thug I was previously trying to disable before the other rudely interrupted.

Four down and no guns left. I quickly disable the other four, hastily making use of the fact that they have no more weapons.

I venture out of the room and help the other two thugs find peace on the floor with their colleagues. Superman is behind me…

"Hostages are safe Batman."

I nod and put some explosive gel on the floor.

"Really a Bat symbol…?"

I don't reply. I move back then push the detonator and jump in the hole before the smoke clears then pounce into battle. They run, they scatter but we catch each one and knock them all down like bowling pins. Superman and I have worked together for years; we work well together because we have trained together, we know each other's styles. They're unorganised and lack any fluidity to their movements; even if they were Meta-humans they wouldn't stand a chance.

Up on the rooftops I get Alfred to call for the police and sit down heavily, I am unsurprised when he does the same.

"You okay?"

I sigh. "I am exhausted, dehydrated, I have a wretched headache that won't quit and I feel sick to my stomach but apart from that sure," I close my eyes and do something I don't usually do, I lean against him.

"You also have an injury, your shoulder B," he sounds amused and worried.

"I was wondering what that throbbing was," I tell him, my voice sounds detached.

Clark laughs. "You're amazing! No other human like you B," he laughs again and I chuckle with him.

"We should hope not," I smirk. "I am glad I did not have to do tonight alone, it was tedious and the percentage of making a mistake was not in my favour."

"Is that a thankyou from the Batman?"

"No," I follow our game.

"Aha, sure," he plays along.

"I should get home, our friend is probably worried about me," I move to get up and he helps me and does something I expected, he picks me up. "I have a car," I tell him with a half-hearted growl.

"I'm faster, less time your friend has to worry," he counters.

I shrug but I don't protest further, I don't have the energy. I push a button to call the Bat-mobile home and drift off to sleep.

Someone's removing my cowl! I open my eyes lethargically and look up at Clark and Al.

"We should keep most of the thermal on him; his temperature will drop in this cold if we don't."

"Sir I have to suture the wound, please at least help me with this part."

I nod to them and drift back to sleep. I am in safe hands, there is no point staying awake further.

"Hmm?" I am jostled out of sleep. I look around and see the staircase; I am being carried to bed.

"Sorry, didn't mean to wake you. You know you're being very docile, usually its 'get out of my city' and 'don't you dare pick me up' or 'I'll get to bed when I want to'."

I say nothing.

"Nothing to say to that huh; no 'thank you Clark you're absolutely amazing and I love you so much'? No 'you're the greatest hero ever and I'm so proud to have known you for years'?"

I snort at him in amusement. "Next time you get a cold from GK poisoning don't come running to me to bring you tea and cold medicine; I'll leave you to rot."

"Hey that was scary! I had no idea what was going on."

Clark opens the door to my room, switches on the light and gently puts me down. I get under the covers as Clark kneels down at the grate and starts a fire with his eyes.

"Told you not to drink anything Luthor gave you, even as Clark Kent."

"He still has no idea that I am Superman, he just really hates Clark for dating Lois Lane."

"Remind me why I put up with him?"

"You like that people underestimate you and you like being able to vomit on anyone you want."

I chuckle. "That was one time and funnily enough I had food poisoning the night before which is why that was the last time I ever let Dick cook something other than meals you can microwave."

He grins at me. "Yet you still went to the party."

"I had to, it was for charity. I didn't plan on losing my dinner but I thought it would be a wasted opportunity if Luthor wasn't covered by the end of the night, which helped my disguise."

"Jimmy got a great picture, Lex was furious."

"It was hilarious! Lex was plastered across newspapers everywhere, not exactly something he wanted to be remembered for."

"I know!"

Clark and I laugh.

"Okay you have to get to sleep so I will go but we can always talk tomorrow."

"Goodbye Clark."

I give him a nod and a smile which he returns with a grin and a wave and leaves me to my headache which isn't long lived when Alfred predictably comes up with pain killers and medicine that helps induce drowsiness. I take everything he gives me and fall asleep quickly, waking up the next day after ten hours of sleep which hasn't happened in years.